Quick Facts
Biography
Reiner Dierksen (24 March 1908 – 15 May 1943) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and posthumous recipient of the German Cross in Gold.
Naval career
Reiner Dierksen joined the Reichsmarine in 1933. From October 1938 to June 1940 he was Commander M 5 of the 1st Mineseweeping flotilla, then he was the Commander of the 32nd Minesweeping flotilla until March 1941. Dierksen began his U-boat training in March 1941, then took his U-boat Commander training and U-boat familiarization until 15 December 1941 when he commissioned the Type IXC U-176 at Bremen. On his second patrol with U-176 Dierksen ran into one of the most stubborn victims of the entire war when he spent almost 48 hours hunting the Dutch steam merchant, Polydorus, before finally sinking her with his 7th and 8th torpedoes.
Korvettenkapitän Reiner Dierksen died when his U-176 was sunk with all hands, 53 men, on its 3 war patrol north of Cuba on 15 May 1943 by Cuban patrol boat CS 13. Dierksen had sunk 10 ships with a total of 45,850 gross register tons (GRT) and one 7,457 GRT ship damaged.
Death
On 15 May 1943, the Cuban merchant ship Camagüey, and the Honduran Hanks, both loaded with sugar, sailed from Sagua La Grande, bound for Havana, escorted by the Cuban submarine chasers CS-11, CS-12, and CS-13. At 17:15 hours, a U.S. Navy Kingfisher aircraft from squadron VS-62 operating from Cuba spotted U-176 at 23°21′N 80°18′W / 23.350°N 80.300°WCoordinates: 23°21′N 80°18′W / 23.350°N 80.300°W and dropped a smoke float to mark her position about one and a half miles astern of the convoy. CS-13 located the U-boat with her sonar, attacked with depth charges and sank U-176.
Summary of Career
Ships attacked
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 August 1942 | Richmond Castle |  United Kingdom | 7,798 | Sunk |
| 8 August 1942 | Kelso | United Kingdom | 3,956 | Sunk |
| 8 August 1942 | Mount Kassion |  Greece | 7,914 | Sunk |
| 8 August 1942 | Trehata | United Kingdom | 4,817 | Sunk |
| 9 August 1942 | Radchurch | United Kingdom | 3,701 | Sunk |
| 25 August 1942 | Empire Breeze | United Kingdom | 7,457 | Sunk |
| 27 November 1942 | Polydorus |  Netherlands | 5,922 | Sunk |
| 13 December 1942 | Scania |  Sweden | 1,629 | Sunk |
| 16 December 1942 | Observer | United Kingdom | 5,881 | Sunk |
| 13 May 1943 | Mambí |  Cuba | 1,983 | Sunk |
| 13 May 1943 | Nickeliner |  United States | 2,249 | Sunk |
Awards
- Iron Cross 2nd Class
- Minesweeper War Badge
- Iron Cross 1st Class
- U-boat War Badge 1939
- German Cross in Gold (posthumous)